Conventional video recording devices, such as video cassette recorders (VCRs), recordable DVD drives, and hard-disk based recorders, often contain a feature to detect commercial advertisements. A user often has the option to skip the detected commercials when playing back a recording.
Conventional approaches used to determine what is or is not a commercial look at characteristics of the video sequences to classify the material as part of a main program or part of a commercial. Conventional methods include using average DC values or motion vectors to determine transitions between the program and the commercials.